With 3.9 seconds left in overtime Monday night and his team ahead by three points, Nuggets rookie Julyan Stone botched an inbounds pass. It was stolen by Minnesota’s Martell Webster, who opted not to shoot a 3 — instead making a dunk with 1.3 seconds left.

Said Stone: “I was just thinking to myself, ‘Thank you.’ “

The Nuggets escaped with a 103-101 victory at the Pepsi Center, their gutsiest win of the season. Down five rotation players — and playing overtime for the second consecutive night — the Nuggets knocked off the Timberwolves with help from, as coach George Karl often explains it, the basketball gods.

“We talked about it in the timeout (with 3.9 seconds left),” said Minnesota coach Rick Adelman. “If we were able to get a steal, we needed to pull up and make a 3. I don’t know what was going through (Webster’s) head.”

The Nuggets had a chance to win in dramatic fashion, but Arron Afflalo missed a contested 17-foot jumper at the regulation buzzer. Afflalo made a layup in overtime with 33.7 seconds left that gave Denver a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

Of course, much has been made about Denver’s lack of a closer, ever since Carmelo Anthony forced his trade to New York. While he missed a big shot, at least Afflalo wants to be the guy. Asked if that mind-set is half the battle, Afflalo said, “That is the entire battle — who’s willing to want that shot and deal with the consequences. … I don’t have to have a good game going or anything special. I just love the moments.”

The Nuggets began the game without Nene (calf injury), Danilo Gallinari (ankle) and Rudy Fernandez (back). Then Ty Lawson injured his ankle in the second quarter and didn’t return. (He’s day to day.) And in the third quarter, Andre Miller barked at the officials, received two technical fouls and was ejected.

“There’s no question it put extra pressure and stress on our team,” Karl said of Miller’s ejection. “But we passed the test.”

Help was in the building. Restricted free agent Wilson Chandler, back from China, watched the game with Denver executives. His agent already confirmed that Chandler will play for the Nuggets this season; a contract is being worked out. Chandler averaged 12.1 points for Denver last season. Hanging out in the winning locker room, Chandler said he thinks he can get clearance to sign with Denver within the next week. Karl came by to say hello to Chandler, saying to him: “We could have used you tonight, man.”

Entering the night, the Nuggets had lost 10 of their past 13 games. But the short-handed win against Minnesota was impressive, bringing Denver to 18-15 on the season (and 9-7 at home). The Wolves (16-17) had won three straight.

Denver’s Al Harrington was huge off the bench. With an arsenal of shot fakes and body shakes, Harrington wedged his way into the paint for layups, complementing those plays with some crowd-raising 3s. He shot a lot — 29 attempts — but made 14, finishing with a season-high 31 points. His 3-pointer from the right corner tied the score at 93 with 1:37 left in regulation.

As for Miller, he was 0-for-8 from the field but tallied 12 assists in 29 minutes before he lost his cool.

Without five rotation players, Karl was forced to play all three of his seldom-used rookies in the fourth quarter and overtime. Now, Kenneth Faried has started some lately, but Karl’s replacement starters come from way down his bench because the coach doesn’t like to rattle his rotation. Faried, as he was drafted to do, was extremely energetic, scoring 10 points and grabbing a game-high 14 rebounds.

Denver lost the previous night at Oklahoma City, another heartbreaker. And so, as Stone explained, “That was the perfect game for game for us, because we’ve been in tough games this year and haven’t been able to pull them out. For us to win in overtime — and how many guys were down tonight — it’s a win we needed to show our toughness.”

Nuggets Recap

What you might have missed

It was a wacky game, to be sure. Denver trailed 30-18 after the first quarter, led 51-46 at halftime and was up by three after the third. … After the game, coach George Karl said a key reason Denver won was the 29 fast-break points. … Al Harrington scored 31 points . Only Danilo Gallinari has also scored 30 or more for Denver this season.

Benjamin Hochman was a sports columnist for The Denver Post until August 2015 before leaving for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, his hometown newspaper. Hochman previously worked for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, winner of two Pulitzer Prizes for its Hurricane Katrina coverage. Hochman wrote the Katrina-themed book “Fourth and New Orleans,” published in 2007.

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